All 35 people aboard the bus survived the crash that happened just after 8 a.m. at the intersection of Kilbourn Road and Illinois Route 173 in Wadsworth, 45 miles north of Chicago, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran Jr. said.

Authorities said the driver of a Jeep Wrangler that collided with the bus, 62-year-old Philip Smith, of Beach Park, died of traumatic injuries. Two people from the Cherokee were taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash after witnesses gave conflicting testimonies.

Authorities originally said the female driver may have ran a red light, but later said some witnessess discounted that claim.

The Illinois Senate liked the idea of providing tax breaks to both Sears Holding Corp and CME Group, Inc.

The Senate voted 36-18 to pass a tax relief package that gives a total of $100 million in tax savings for Sears Holding and CME, which owns Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The House was a different story.

State representatives voted 99-8 against the legislation. Legislators may try again later on Tuesday evening.

Gov. Pat Quinn supported bill also increases the current five percent tax credit for low income individuals and families to 10 percent and raises the personal exemption taxpayers can claim.

"This bill is about tax relief to the places where we could get it, targeted to the people who need it, while at the same time we attract and retain the businesess we have here today, " stated Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields) to the Sun Times.

The House is working on a version that offers Sears and CME the same tax breaks, but increases the tax credit for the working poor to 7.5 percent and does not include personal exemption changes. They have not voted on their version as of yet.

The product comes in a black bowl with clear lid and is marked with expiration dates 9/30/2011, 10/2/2011, and 10/3/2011 on the label on the front of the package. The garden salad comes in a 6 oz container and the chef salad comes in a 5.6 oz container.

The potential for contamination was noted when a lot of grape tomatoes revealed the presence of Salmonella. Salads produced for Thorntons contain grape tomatoes from the same lot.

No illnesses have yet been reported.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was among those offering condolences to the family of a 6-year-old girl killed the day before she was scheduled to start school.

Arianna Gibson was sleeping on her grandmother's couch the 7400 block of South Sangamon Street when the house was hit by gunfire. Two other teens were also wounded in the shooting.

A prayer vigil was held Monday in the girl's honor, but the victim's mother, Demitta Collins, and her grandmother were taken to nearby Liberation Christian Center to meet with Emanuel and the family's pastor.

"He said I don’t have to worry. My family don't have to worry," Collins said of her meeting with the mayor.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy expressed disgust Monday at a news conference while talking about the incident and revealed a potential break in the case.

"We have a person in custody who's being questioned," McCarthy said. "We have a lot of information we have to follow up on before we get that person charged. But right now it’s a very, strong, strong lead."

The two teens victims, A 17-year-old female and a 17-year-old man, were listed in good condition.

On Saturday, the whole block had gathered for a party. Arianna was among dozens of children who played with sidewalk chalk and ate barbecue ahead of their first day of school. She was scheduled to begin classes at Libby Elementary.

"Whoever hurt my baby are wrong for that. That was a little 6 year old. She didn't deserve this," Collins said.

You've gotta hurry, but if you set your own hours it shouldn't be a problem to head on over to the Merchandise Mart's Conference Room B at 2 p.m. for an inspiring panel featuring five local tech founders sharing their war stories. Sam Yagan (OKCupid.com), Troy Henikoff (Excelerate Labs), Jack Philbin (Vibes Media), Will Scott (Lextech Global Services), and Ajay Goel (JangoMail) will go over their hiring and managing practices, share their biggest mistakes, and how they've arrived their winning mojo today.

A sailor aboard a racing sailboat that took part in the annual Race to Mackinac Island has posted dramatic images of the frightening storm that ultimately claimed the lives of two racers.

Greg Alm wore a helmet cam while taking part in the race aboard the J109 Realt Na Mara and said the only light source he could work with came from lightning blasts that fired off during the violent squall.

Alm declined to be interviewed for this story, but said the vessel stopped by the capsized Wingnuts boat as the crew of the Sociable tried to extricate them from the water.

The following passage accompanied the above video on YouTube:

The worst of the storm hit just after midnight which made bolts of lightning our only light source.

The evening's weather reports indicated winds were not expected to exceed 30 knots. As the wind built, our tack line exploded; we were knocked down immediately and stayed horizontal from winds of 54 knots for about 15 minutes.

Shortly after being knocked down, with no steerage, lightning flashed and another boat, just to weather, without sails was planing right towards us. Thankfully, they managed to alter course and avoid a collision.

Once the winds calmed a bit, lights shined on our boat followed by the release of an emergency flare. We approached the vessel we now think was the Sociable who was first at the scene of the capsized WingNuts. They told us there were 8 people in the water.

We began searching the area immediately. In a short period of time, more than a dozen boats were at the site; and, after about 45 minutes, the rescue helicopter joined the search as well. We received word that 6 of the 8 crew were rescued. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who were lost.

The Coast guard ultimately found two bodies floating in Lake Michigan. The Chicago Yacht Club identified them as the boat’s skipper, Mark Morely, and Suzanne Bickel, both of Saginaw, Mich.

The crew of a competing boat, Sociable, notified the Coast Guard early Monday that the 35-foot sailboat WingNuts capsized near the Fox islands, west of Charlevoix, during the Chicago Yacht Club's annual Race to Mackinac, Petty Officer George Degener told the Associated Press.

The Sociable crew said eight people aboard WingNuts went into the water, and that they recovered six of them, according to the Coast Guard. All six recovered were wearing life preservers, and they were taken to the Coast Guard station in Charlevoix for evaluation, the agency said.

A 41-foot boat from Coast Guard Station Charlevoix, a helicopter from Air Station Traverse City and the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw were involved in the search. The Coast Guard said 4- to 6-foot waves were reported, and air and water temperatures were in the low 70s.

According to the race website, 355 boats and roughly 3,500 crew members took part in this year's race, which starts at Chicago's Navy Pier and finishes off of Mackinac Island, near where lakes Michigan and Huron meet.

The first race was held in 1898, and organizers began holding it every year starting in 1921. This year's race is the 103rd running.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will likely focus on the number 2 engine of the Boeing B-17 when they return Tuesday to the Oswego bean field where it made an emergency landing Monday.

The World War II era B-17 made an emergency landing in a field in Oswego, Illinois shortly after taking off from the Aurora airport.

One person was slightly injured after the plane hit the ground and burst into flames, but six others escaped without injury.

NTSB investigator Tim Sorenson said the pilot of another plane noticed that the engine closest to the fuselage on the left side appeared to be on fire, then notified the crew of the Liberty Belle, who had just taken off minutes before.

The plane skidded to a stop in front of a line of trees and the passengers managed to scramble to safety before the vintage aircraft was engulfed in flames that witnesses say reached 50 feet into the air. One of the passengers suffered a minor head injury while exiting the plane

Investigators said the crew told them about an engine problem that had grounded the plane over the weekend.

"They told us that the problem was repaired," said Sorenson.

The vintage plane, built in 1944 referred to as the "Flying Fortress,"crashed and burned at Route 71 and Minkler road in Oswego, just four miles from its takeoff. The bomber was headed toward Indianapolis.

The once-restored B-17 was owned by the Liberty Foundation, which flew it around the country giving free rides to veterans and paid rides to the public. It was one of the few remaining "Flying Fortresses" still in flyable condition.

Aviation enthusiast Gary Carter said he talked to the crew Sunday night, when they told him about fuel pump problems on the number 2 engine.

"It’s not usual for a military plane of that age to have a fuel leak,” Carter said.

Fellow enthusiast Chuck Derer agreed.

“People say every radial engine makes its own spot,” he said, referring to an oil stain on the tarmac.

Derer said he saw such a stain when he toured the Liberty Belle over the weekend at the Aurora Airport.

For now, the remains of the vintage bomber are under the protection of the Kendall County Sheriff’s office in the farm field. Tuesday the NTSB plans to truck them to a secure site so the agency can continue its investigation.

The B-17 "Flying Fortress" was the most storied aircraft the United States ever produced, and easily the most romantic airplane associated with World War II.

Over 238,000 were produced, only 12 flyable examples remained before Monday's crash (a total of 53 survive in one form or another).

The B-17 was considered nearly indestructible. German Luftwaffe pilots said it took, on average, 20 hits to bring one down. The majority were based in southern England, and flew across the English Channel on long bombing runs over Germany and occupied Europe. If there was an aircraft which defeated the Nazis, this was it.

Bulls General Manager Gar Forman today told NBCChicago that Bulls forward Carlos Boozer is in worse shape than many thought.

"He's in a lot of pain," Forman said during a 1-on-1 interview. "There's some ligament damage we don't think he'll practice the next few days. The hope is he'll be ready to go by Monday (game 1 vs. the Hawks)"

That's a big change from what was reported as 'turf toe' earlier this week.

Boozer turned in an unproductive performance in Game-5 against he Pacers, making just one shot and pulling down four boards.

Stay tuned for more information.

Photo Credit: AP]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:49:45 -0600http://media.nbcchicago.com/images/213*120/ChristinaAguileraC.jpgChristina Aguilera’s Beverly Hills mansion is on the market for a cool $13.5 million. The 10,000 square foot crib was the former home of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon. It is also where they filmed their MTV reality TV show "The Osbournes." View the listing.]]>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:27:37 -0600http://media.nbcchicago.com/images/213*120/ap-british-oil-cleanup.jpgA magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland and prompting a "nuclear emergency."

The so-called “Marathon Man” logged a 9,569 miles in the past year as he finished the 26.2-mile races in seven countries.

“For me, it is an experiment for myself, an experiment with my mind to find out what is possible,” Engels told Canada's National Post in September, after he had finished number 207. “After eight months, I think this is possible.”

It turns out Engels was right.

The 49-year-old obliterated the previous record held by Japanese runner Akinori Kusuda who completed 52 marathons on consecutive days in 2009.

For Engels, it was the second time he made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2008, he earned the honor for finishing a record 20 Iron Man triathlons in a single year.

The Chevy Volt—a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can go up to 375 miles without recharging its battery—was named the top North American car of the year at the Detroit Auto Show Monday.

Chevrolet calls the plug-in Volt “a full-performance electric vehicle.” Unlike hybrids like the Toyota Prius, the Volt is designed to travel long distances on electric power alone, and can even travel 35 miles without tapping its gas reserves.

The Hyundai Sonata sedan and the all-electric Nissan Leaf finished behind the Volt when judged by 49 automotive journalists from Canada and the United States. The judges considered factors like handling, driver satisfaction, and innovation when making their picks, according to the New York Times.

Detroit was the latest honor for the eco-friendly vehicle, which gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway when running on fuel. It was already named the 2011 Green Car of the Year and Motor Trend Magazine’s 2011 Car of the Year.

The all-new energy-efficient Ford Explorer won the North American truck of the year award. So far, neither the Volt nor the Explorer have the sales numbers to match their accolades, but that didn’t dissuade the judges from casting their votes.

“Even though the sales aren’t there yet, it’s sort of a chicken-and-egg thing,” judge Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com, told Bloomberg’s Craig Trudell. “We have to go there, but the sales aren’t there yet.”

Driving emissions-free for most commutes means a little pain upfront. The Volt will set you back $41,000. Even with a $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in hybrids factored in, the Volt is more expensive than most of its competitors.

Innovation, not price, was the major concern for General Motors in designing and marketing the car.

“Since development began, we believed the Volt had the potential to transform the automotive industry,” GM CEO Dan Akerson said in a statement.

The Volt continues to rack up the trophies. Earlier this year, Ward’s AutoWorld named its drivetrain one of the 10 best of the year, and Car & Driver named the Volt one of the best 10 cars of the year.

Aside from its “top car” honors, the plug-in hybrid was given a “breakthrough technology” award by Popular Mechanics.

The Volt is currently available only in California, the New York metropolitan area, Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas. It will be on sale nationwide in the next 12 to 18 months.